Welcome to THE WELL-FED E-PUB!
The companion
monthly ezine to the quadruple-award-winning how-to
guide, ÒThe Well-Fed WriterÓ (http://www.wellfedwriter.com). Serving up food
for thought and tasty tips for the prospering FLCW*. Come on in, sit anywhere
and bring your appetite!
*FLCW, peppered
throughout the ezine, stands for ÒFreelance
Commercial WriterÓ—anyone who freelances for
businesses (vs. writing magazine articles, short stories, poetry, etc.),
typically earns $50-125+ an hour, and is the sole focus of this
e-newsletter.
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VOLUME
12, ISSUE 7 – JULY 2013
Publishing
the first Tuesday of every month since May 2002
Read
it online at: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/ezine/july2013.html
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ATTN:
OHIO, OREGON AND CALIFORNIA FREELANCERS & PUBLISHERS!
I've
got six events planned this summer, starting in late July, in the above states.
For details (which are evolving), visit: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/seminars.shtml
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TO BUY ÒTHE WELL-FED WRITERÓ IN BULK (AND SAVE BIG)?
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a writerÕs group, class or workshop? Buy TWFW at a discount,
add a profit center to your group! Buy more, save more. Details: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/bulk.shtml
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PARTNER
WITH DESIGNERS FOR A LOW-EFFORT FLOW OF WRITING JOBS!
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here: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/partnerwithdesignersebook.shtml.
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NEW 1-ON-1 COACHING PROGRAMS: SAMPLE/SITE REVIEW
& ÒSIDECARÓ!
Low-cost peace of mind and guidance: http://wellfedwriter.com/mentoring.shtml.
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Check
out The WELL-FED WRITER BLOG! Weigh in on ÒInstead of Just Sharing What You Do
with Clients, Share Who You AreÓ; ÒWhat You Do When You Do What You DoÓ;
ÒCommercial Writing Has Many Faces (as These Unusual Projects ProveÉ)Ó; & more! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/blog.
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THIS
MONTHÕS MENU:
I. APPETIZER: 4 SHORTCUTS TO COMMERCIAL WRITING SUCCESS
Those Who Do These Will Stand Out as Exceptions in a Sloppy
World
II. ÒFIELDÓ GREENS: ANOTHER
ÒPROJECT-RATEÓ (VS. HOURLY) ADVOCATE!
OH FLCW Builds on JuneÕs Feature
with More Strong Reasons to ÒGo FlatÓ!
III. MAIN ÒMEATÓ COURSE: The
Postcard-Perfect Pitch for Clients
Seasoned Pro Serves up the ÒHow-ToÓ
for Direct Mail Prospecting
IV. DESSERT: Sweet Success Stories and Tips
Midwest FLCW ÒSmiles and Dials,Ó Gets a Warm Reception
(& One Big GigÉSo Far!)
TIP: Phoenix FLCW Keeps Beaucoup
Jobs Straight with Project-Folder ÒSystemÓ
V. COFFEE, MINTS AND
TOOTHPICKS
- MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? New Ebook
Serves Up the ÒHow-ToÓ!
- GOT ANY SUCCESS
STORIES YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?
- THE WELL-FED E-PUB
NEEDS ALL COURSES!
- The WELL-FED WRITER
BLOG is RockinÕ! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/blog
- AWAI Copywriting (& Other) Courses: Register Here, Get
Bonus CD!
- How Can
My Mentoring Service Serve You?
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I. APPETIZER: 4 SHORTCUTS TO COMMERCIAL WRITING SUCCESS
Those Who Do These Will Stand Out as Exceptions in a Sloppy
World
Okay, so IÕm not typically big on Òsuccess shortcuts,Ó
believing that, generally speaking, there arenÕt any. But these come pretty
darn closeÉ
1) Do What You Say YouÕre Going to Do: Had a phone call
scheduled with a client a few weeks back, and on the appointed day and time,
his phone rang and there I was. He said, ÒHmmm. You called exactly when you
said you were going to call.Ó Not terribly impressive in my books, but the fact
that heÕd even notice, points to the relative rarity of professionalism and
reliability in the business world. If you deliver, call, show up, etc., when
you say you will, you WILL stand out.
2) Turn in Clean Work: Nothing like copy with typos and
grammatical errors to quickly sour a client on working with you again. And itÕs
far more common than youÕd ever imagine. But itÕs so absolutely unnecessary,
AND inexcusable. Sure, we all miss one now and then, but make sure itÕs just
now and then.
3) Be Easy to Work With: Clients love to work with people
who are not only reliable and good at what they do, but are flexible,
uncomplaining, good-natured, and can roll with the punches. Think, Òbreath of
fresh air.Ó This quality can actually make up for less-than brilliant writing
skills. IÕve seen it. Nice, likable, easy-going FLCWÕs get more business.
4) Look for Opportunities to Reveal Your Ethics: In the
current WFW Blog post, I share a story of meeting a guy at a networking event,
and was so impressed with a story he told about his business dealings, that I
wanted to hire him on the spot (but, alas, didnÕt need his services). Clients
(like all human beings) want to associate with good people who know right from
wrong and live it every day.
IÕve said it before: ANYONE—even those just starting
out—can deliver the four things above (no experience or bursting
portfolio required). And if your portfolio is indeed
thin, then youÕd be crazy not to capitalize on ANY advantage you have. ÔNuff said. LetÕs eat!
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II. ÒFIELDÓ GREENS: ANOTHER
ÒPROJECT-RATEÓ (VS. HOURLY) ADVOCATE!
OH FLCW Builds on JuneÕs Feature
with More Strong Reasons to ÒGo FlatÓ!
Last month, I ran a great piece from Atlanta-area FLCW Don
Sadler about the benefits of flat-rate vs. hourly-rate
pricing. In its wake, I got the very useful follow-on discussion below from
Toledo, OH FLCW Paula Ashley (http://www.nyninc.com).
While certainty is a well-known benefit of flat-rate
pricing, it bears repeating. I loved her point about Òfee murkinessÓ often
leading to fee trimming. How true. Thanks, Paula!
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Peter: HereÕs another key benefit of quoting on a project
(vs. hourly) basis: CERTAINTY. My clients appreciate knowing in advance the
total cost of a project. To keep them from running off the rails, I provide
proposals that specify the number of revisions they can make within the flat
rate, and provide a per-hour rate for additional changes.
I also specify in the proposal that if the project revisions
exceed the number specified in the proposal, they will be apprised of the cost
to make additional revisions before I proceed, so that they can approve the
upcharge before the cost is incurred.
This is better for both the client and me. The client can
budget appropriately, and I donÕt stress over invoicing when the projectÕs
done. If the clientÕs final obligation is unclear, my impulse has always
been to shave off a bit of the cost, to ensure theyÕre happy. But what that
does is raise expectations about what theyÕll get for their investment on
future projects, and ultimately, depresses what I can earn for my work.
If I put a figure on the table upfront, and the client
balks, I can revise the figure downward as needed, typically by adjusting the
project deliverables. For example, the client could do the research
instead of me, and save themselves several hours worth of my time. I get a
reasonable rate for my work, and they get a price they can live with.
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III. MAIN ÒMEATÓ COURSE: The
Postcard-Perfect Pitch for Clients
Seasoned Pro Serves up the ÒHow-ToÓ
for Direct Mail Prospecting
Got this great piece from veteran copywriter and marketing
mentor Marcia Yudkin. SheÕs the author, most
recently, of the short but meaty new ebook,
ÒFreelance Copywriter: Top 10 Ways to Get Your Copywriting Business Off the
Ground,Ó available for just $2.99 on Kindle, Nook and Smashwords.
Check out her first annual No-Hype
Copywriting Telesummit.
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When I recently tallied up how the novice freelance
copywriters IÕve coached landed their first clients, targeted direct mail came
in as the second most common method.
I rarely see this recommended these days, as postal mail is viewed as
Òold school.Ó However, it works as
well as it ever did, at low cost.
When you can identify your ideal client in precise
demographic or professional terms, you can obtain lists of them from companies
like InfoUSA.com. Then you create
and send a postcard bearing a tempting special offer to at least 100 of those
on the list. Many online postcard
companies offer utilities for designing your card online and uploading the list
you purchased, so you never even have to address or stamp the cards.
Most of the time, someone calls or emails to take you up on
your postcard offer. YouÕre off and running with your first client, having
broken even or better on the cost of the mailing.
Your special offer might be making at least five smart
suggestions for improving their home page for $99; adapting their web site for
brochure copy for $395; writing a newspaper insert for $197; or getting them
publicity in their local paper, guaranteed, for $299 (if you donÕt succeed,
they can get a refund or youÕll try a second time for them).
The offer becomes a win-win when itÕs priced low enough to
seem low-risk for your postcard recipients, when what youÕre offering to do is
something they already realize they need, when you feel okay about getting your
foot in a door for that amount of money, and when the people youÕre sending the
postcards to most likely need you for additional work beyond that offer.
Postcards are superb for carrying your offer because you can
make them colorful and eye-catching for very little money, and because
recipients always at least glance at a postcard before tossing it. Some recipients put aside your postcard
and call you when they have a free moment to see what else you can do.
The postcard method especially suits introverts, who can use
it to showcase their creative mastery of headlines and offers while avoiding
the making of cold calls. ProtŽgŽs
of mine have used it to obtain clients in construction, executive recruiting,
scientific manufacturing, corporate sales training and other similarly specific
niches. ItÕs a tiny risk to find
out whether it will also work for you.
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IV. DESSERT: Sweet Success Stories and Tips
Midwest FLCW ÒSmiles and Dials,Ó Gets a Warm Reception
(& One Big GigÉSo Far!)
TIP: Phoenix FLCW Keeps Beaucoup Jobs
Straight with Project-Folder ÒSystemÓ
An upbeat piece from a Midwest FLCW
(who wishes to remain anonymous) about a recent productive foray into phone
prospecting. HereÕs the thing: donÕt count on one
or two rounds of cold calling to bring you unlimited work; they usually wonÕt.
It takes a lot of calling and follow-up over time. But the key takeaway here is
how receptive people were. Just in case youÕre thinking itÕll be the ÒMeanie
ChannelÓ (all meanies, all the time). Not so. After that, a great Òstaying-organizedÓ tip from AZ FLCW, Christine
Bailey (http://christinekbailey.com). I talk about project folders in TWFW, but
Christine takes it to a whole new level!
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I have quite a bit of working-the-phones experience. Back in
the day, I had a couple of phone room jobs, IÕve done pledge-drive calls at a
community radio station, and I made thousands of cold calls when I was a web
designer.
Earlier this year, I pivoted from web design to copywriting.
So, it was back to my old friend, the telephone. IÕve been calling ÒMarcomÓ (marketing communications) people in academia,
private industry, and non-profits in my area. And guess what? People are happy
to take my calls!
IÕm amazed at how receptive people are. This never happened
during all the years of prospecting for web design clients. IÕve already landed
a big project. More appear likely. And I only started marketing my services in
the past few months.
A Marcom veteran in my city even
gave me a bit of sotto voce advice: ÒThereÕs a lot of bad writing in this
town.Ó (PB Note: ThereÕs a lot of bad writing in EVERY town). In short, thereÕs
plenty of opportunity for those who create a calling script (or use PeterÕs),
find a leads list, and start smiling and dialing.
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As a new FLCW, I had trouble keeping projects straight—copywriting
jobs; agency projects; articles for publications; and a travel book and
website. Important details were getting lost, and because I was working on so
many different projects, I constantly forgot what I needed to do next. I did
three things to remedy the problem:
1) I created a project checklist that included key details
about the assignment: project name, due date, milestones, quote and client
contact information. It became the first sheet in the folder, and the document
I used to create an invoice at job completion.
2) I bought transparent, plastic, colored folders to keep
each project separate and organized. Transparent because I could quickly see
the client project sheet; and colored because each color represented a
different project type.
3) I fixed a sticky note to the bottom right corner of each
folder. Each time I finished with a project; I wrote the next task on the
sticky note. When I picked up the folder the next time (whether an hour or a
week later), I knew exactly what needed to be done next.
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V. COFFEE, MINTS AND
TOOTHPICKS
- MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? New Ebook
Serves Up the ÒHow-ToÓ!
- GOT ANY SUCCESS
STORIES YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?
- THE WELL-FED E-PUB
NEEDS ALL COURSES!
- The WELL-FED WRITER
BLOG is RockinÕ! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/blog
- AWAI Copywriting (& Other) Courses: Register Here, Get
Bonus CD!
- How Can
My Mentoring Service Serve You?
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MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? New Ebook Serves Up the ÒHow-ToÓ!
ThatÕs not hype. ItÕs how my business has worked for the
better part of 18 years, thanks to some juicy partnerships with graphic
designers. The result? 1-2 jobs virtually every month with little or no effort
on my part. And I put all the how-to details down on paper. Check it out at http://www.wellfedwriter.com/partnerwithdesignersebook.shtml.
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GOT
ANY SUCCESS STORIES YOUÕD LIKE TO SHARE?
While
my call for submissions netted a TON of stuff a few months back, IÕm still a
bit lean on success stories. Whether starting out or
experienced, if you recently had a noteworthy success (i.e., landed a new client—perhaps
in an unusual way—a new gig, new work from an old client, or anything
else that has a good lesson for your fellow FLCWÕs), send it on to peter@wellfedwriter.com. 100-300 words is great.
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IÕM
SERIOUSLY LOW ON ALL WELL-FED E-PUB COURSES!
Got a great strategy,
approach or specific expertise youÕre willing to share? Turn it into a Feature
(MAIN COURSE) for the EPUB (500-600 words; query first). ALSO, send your ÒGREENSÓ
(200-400 words), TIPS (100-200) and SUCCESS STORIES (150-300) to peter@wellfedwriter.com. Archived issues at http://www.wellfedwriter.com/ezine.shtml.
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The
WELL-FED WRITER BLOG is RockinÕ! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/blog
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AWAI COPYWRITING (& OTHER) COURSES: Register Here, Get Your Choice of Bonus CD Program! Six-Figure
Copywriting, Graphic Design, Internet Writing, Fundraising, Health Market and
more! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/awai.shtml.
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HOW CAN MY MULTIPLE MENTORING PROGRAMS SERVE YOU?
For details and testimonials, visit http://www.wellfedwriter.com/mentoring.shtml.
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